Fight Scenes: The Defining Factor of Action Movies

Fight scenes are definitely what makes a movie an action movie, right? Without them, you can never really categorize a film under the action genre. So what are the most famous fight scenes from movies?
Personally, I think Fight Club’s fight scenes are definitely one of the best. The movie starts out with Edward Newton being a simple company worker. He eventually transforms to a battle-hardened fighter, and the climax features one of the best fight scenes in the movie with Edward turning Angel Face into a punching bag. Another film that has a notable fight scene is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In this movie, Michelle Yeoh displays graceful moves alongside dangerous weapons to create one of the most memorable fight scenes in film history, through the help of wires and cables which is a signature of the Chinese.
Another movie we are all familiar with is 300. Set in ancient Sparta, Leonidas, along with 300 of his warriors, faced off against Xerxes, an army about 10 times their number. The movie features high-end details during the fight scenes. The use of zoom during lethal attacks and the chipping of armors when hit, for example, are particularly notable. This movie’s scene where 300 brave warriors from Sparta faced overwhelming numbers to send a message to Xerxes particularly stuck to me. Compared to the 300 film which features slow-motion style scenes, the Bourne series featured a follow through approach with a chaotic, handheld camera style in the fight scenes. Jumping from one window to another while avoiding obstacles and fending off chasers, Jason Bourne’s acrobatics proved to be one of the best as well.
Action fans will surely be familiar with the epic fight scenes shown to us by the Matrix as well. The final battle between Neo and Agent Smith features bullet dodging, fast-paced Kung Fu and plain anti-gravity scenarios. The fight scene was one of its kind and will definitely be remembered by a lot of action fans.
Fight scenes generally make up an action movie. Without it, the movie will be boring, incomplete, and essentially, not an action movie.